A woman who lived in a Michigan grocery store sign for about a year told police it was an “old safe place,” according to body camera footage.
On April 23, a contractor was doing roof maintenance at a Family Fare supermarket in Midland when he opened a small door at the back of the store’s sign and was greeted by a woman, MLive.com reported.
Midland Police Officer Brennon Warren previously told the outlet that there appeared to be “laid floors” and a “mini table,” as well as clothing, a Keurig coffee maker, a printer and a computer.
According to the Associated Press and MLive.com, the 34-year-old woman has not been identified and has not been charged with any crime. In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, police released body camera footage of their interaction with the woman, and the video was released on Tuesday, May 21.
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“I’m moving out of here in 24 hours to get away from all this,” the woman told the officers. When an officer told her she had to get out, she said she didn’t want to leave any of her “things.”
It is unclear how the woman kept accessing the roof. She told officers she had lived there for about a year, MLive.com previously reported.
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The officer eventually told the woman that he had a nickname: “The Rooftop Ninja.” “That’s true,” she said with a laugh.
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“People would see her every now and then, and then all of a sudden she’d be gone,” Warren said USA Today. “No one really knew where she went, but no one ever hinted or thought she would be on the roof top.”
When asked how she found the space, the woman said “an old safe place,” claiming it was familiar to her family.
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“This is impressive,” said another officer. They both even remarked how clean it looked.
According to body camera footage, the 34-year-old asked authorities how they got onto the roof. “A ladder,” said one of them. “We’re not roof ninjas.”
Mlive.com reported that the woman was later offered help at a crisis shelter or soup kitchen, but she declined. She was also told she would be arrested if she returned to the property.
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She has not returned to the roof since, according to ABC affiliate WJRT.
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, SpartanNash, the parent company of Family Fare, said store employees responded “with the utmost compassion and professionalism.”
The company went on to add that “providing enough safe, affordable housing remains a widespread problem across the country that our community needs to work together to solve.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education